This House of Grief

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This house of grief – Helen Garner

About the Book

Anyone can see the place where the children died. You take the Princes Highway past Geelong, and keep going west in the direction of Colac. Late in August 2006, soon after I had watched a magistrate commit Robert Farquharson to stand trial before a jury on three charges of murder, I headed out that way on a Sunday morning, across the great volcanic plain. On the evening of 4 September 2005, Father’s Day, Robert Farquharson, a separated husband, was driving his three sons home to their mother, Cindy, when his car left the road and plunged into a dam. The boys, aged ten, seven and two, drowned. Was this an act of revenge or a tragic accident? The court case became Helen Garner‘s obsession. She followed it on its protracted course until the final verdict. In this utterly compelling book, Helen Garner tells the story of a man and his broken life. She presents the theatre of the courtroom with its actors and audience, all gathered for the purpose of bearing witness to the truth, players in the extraordinary and unpredictable drama of the quest for justice. This House of Grief is a heartbreaking and unputdownable book by one of Australia’s most admired writers.

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Spirits of the Ghan

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Spirits of the Ghan by Judy Nunn

 

Book Extract

It is 2001 and as the world charges into the new Millennium, a century-old dream is about to be realised in the Red Centre of Australia: the completion of the mighty Ghan railway, a long-lived vision to create the ‘backbone of the continent’, a line that will finally link Adelaide with the Top End.

 

Comments

Well I just finished Spirits of the Ghan by Judy Nunn; due out the end of October 2015. I was lucky enough received access to a pre-publication ebook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

And I absolutely love it! Spirits of the Ghan is the first book I have read by Judy and it definitely won’t be my last.

I know it sounds cliché but from the very first page I was hooked. I wanted to keep reading and that didn’t change throughout the whole book.

Spirits of the Ghan has everything a great read needs; an intriguing storyline, interesting characters, history, culture, friendship, family, heartbreak and a little romance.

I loved the fact that throughout the book it was told from the points of view of different characters. This allowed me to get to know and love each character and become engrossed in their story.

I was enjoying the book so much and was worried the end half of the book would let me down; but it didn’t. I thoroughly enjoyed the story right to the very end and couldn’t have asked for a better way for the book to be wrapped up.

Two days after I finished the book I find myself still thinking about it.

 

Rating – 5/5

 

Ready by – Jody

 

 

Better Reading Top 100 Books as voted by YOU!

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BR-TOP100-770X200PX-web-bannerBetter Reading’s Top 100 is the first wide-ranging book survey voted for by Australians

Are we really a sports-loving nation obsessed by footy and the outdoors? Well, our Top 100 list reveals that we’re also a nation of avid readers.

Around 5000 people responded to Better Reading’s survey on their favourite books, the first survey of its kind. Is your favourtite among them? Continue reading

CBCA Winners 2015

 

 

Reserve your copy of the winning titles below

Older Readers

WINNER   

The Projected by Claire Zorn

 

the-protected

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HONOUR BOOKS

Nona and me – Claire Atkins

The Minnow – Diana Sweeney

 

Younger Readers

WINNER

The Cleo stories by Libby Gleeson

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HONOUR BOOKS

Two wolves by Tristan Bancks

Withering-by-sea by Judith Rossell

 

To check out all the winners click here